


And Back Again

by kazirede



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe - Twins, And Kazi played to much 'To the Moon', And Kiriya is trying to get Hiiro involved too, Established Relationship, For Emu's sake, I promise it won't be too shippy, In which Emu remembers he has a long lost brother, Kazi is just wanting so badly to have twins in ex aid and making shit up, Kinda, LEAVE THE KID ALONE HE'S BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH ALREADY, M/M, Multi, Twins, also, and then shit and conspiracies happen, at least between Emu and Kiriya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2018-12-26 16:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12063081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazirede/pseuds/kazirede
Summary: “Can I tell you a story?” Emu asked.Kiriya seemed taken aback by this question, but shrugged. “It better not be one of your creepy-pastas you spook Nico with.” He laughed. “I mean … come on, a haunted game cartridge that had a ghost that drowned? Spooookyyyyy”Alternate Description:Sometimes, the past should be left where it is. Sometimes, it's okay you can't remember much of anything in your childhood.Once Emu mentions he once had a twin brother he can't remember, Kiriya goes in search for more information regarding Emu's past. Meanwhile, however, Parad is being pursued by men he had never seen before, And Emu has to hide him, not realizing the effects Parad is having on Emu's memory.





	1. Polybius

**Author's Note:**

> My first work and it's in Kamen Rider Ex-Aid on AO3 ... lord help me.

_You are in a dark room. In front of you, you see three items settled on an old wooden desk, lit very dimly by candlelight_  
_ Examine: items on the desk_  
  
_Placed in front of you are three items: An old, brass Key, looking as if it had just been picked up from the dirt; A wooden puzzle of some kind, one that looks broken from many failed attempts at using it; and a rusted knife, its edges dulled with many uses …._  
  
_ Take: Knife_  
_ Take: Wooden Puzzle_  
_ Take: Rusted Knife_  
_ Examine: Desk_  
  
_The Desk is now laying bare in front of you now. Upon second examination, though, you discover that there are two drawers underneath the desk, stacked on top of each other_  
  
_ Open: Top Drawer_  
  
_You try to open the drop door – it doesn’t budge. On Closer inspection, you see it has a keyhole_  
  
_ Use: Key on Top Drawer_  
  
_You fit the brass key on the top drawer’s keyhole. It fits in easily, and you open the drawer with relative ease. Inside the drawer, there is a note._  
  
_ Read: Note ___  
  
_There are letters written in Kanji scrawled across the letter, looking as if it was written by someone just learning to write:_  
  
“It was our birthday”  
“Don’t you remember?”  
“I gave you life.”  
“H a p p y b I r t h d a y”  
  
_I feel uneasy. You practically slam the drawer shut, shaking the candle on the desk. As you do, though, you suddenly hear a knocking from the lower drawer. I don’t want to look. You study the drawer anyway. You foolish child_  
  
_ Open: Bottom Drawer_  
  
_It doesn’t budge. I feel relieved. But you still hear the knocking, more frantic this time, as if wanting to get out. There’s no way to open it. Please turn back._  
_ Use: Knife on Drawer_  
  
_Why_  
  
_ Use Knife on Drawer_  
  
_Please don’t._  
  
_ Use: Knife on Drawer_  
  
_Using the knife, you slipped it between the cracks, and then tilted it, prying open the drawer._  
  
_ Look: Inside Bottom Drawer_  
  
_There is nothing but darkness. This isn’t right. Please don’t look._  
  
 Look: Inside Bottom Drawer  
  
_Please_  
  
_ Look: inside Bottom Drawer_  
  
_There is nothing but darkness. You peer inside, before slipping your hand inside. A ͖͜h҉a̻̱̪n͇̳̲̯̠d͙͈̗͓̼̩ ̭̝͈̱̺s̫̱̞̦̤̥̗h͏̙o̺͎̦̖̯̘͜ͅo̷t̤͍̮̝͕͠s͇̼̞̰͕͎ ̜̟̝̹̲f̦̲̫͚͖͙r̞̤͈͍ọ̢m̷ t̹̜̺̠̞h̳e̬͔͕ ̬̩̙͖d̶̖̩̪̼a̹̭̲rk̜̬͎̞̼̠̥̕n̖̻͓e̮̬̙̙͚͔͢s̪̜̼̭͇̠̲s͢ ̘̖̳͇̟a̰͓̩̤̙̭̥n̬̟̦̖̥̫d̢͕̙͔̭̦ ̞͙̣͍̳͞g͓͈̱̣̤r̮̞̕ab̜s̴͚͍̠̝͍̤ ̸̝͉͚̖̫y͍̯͞ͅo̧̮̝̤̮͉̞u̻r ̼͡f͠a̠̪̳̯̩̖̝c͔̹͕̯̟̣e̹̬͢.̛ ̤͓̯͜T̢h͏e d̩̱͕a̯r͖̩͙̦̱͍ͅk҉͎̣͍̼̰ͅne̸̬͖s̩̦͎͜s͕̪̥̱̬̖͠ ̢͈̻̙̻ͅi̟n̝s̶i̜͙ͅd̛̬̙̺e̸ ̢̤i͚̭s̮͙̘ ͏̰̼̞̞s̴̬͇͙̜c̴̫̩̘̟r͓ͅę̭̞̤̼͚a̤̲̜̰m̯̺̙̳͝ͅi̪n̼̙̭̫͢g͕̤̩̥̳.̡̠̯ ̟̫T̵͙̱̫̟̭ͅh̘̬ȩ̦̤̙͙͉ͅre̜͇̲̱̬͎ ̮͕̺̱̬̯̳i͇̻͈̠͙̜̩͡s̷͇̣͍ ̩̜̩͕͇a ͇͔̳͔̝̝̞͡r̳̺͔͟i̼̤̮̤v̥̞̖e͓̝r̴̦͔͈͍.̸̻̖̥ ̯̺̝̗̮H̫̱̯o̡͔̫̳̙̤w͓̞̹̖̲̥̜͢ ̡͕i̪̗͉s͉͉͈̱̠͟ t̤̻̰̠h̨̲̳̜e̠̹͎̗ṟ̝̯̣ḛ̦̻̘͉ ͏a̫ ͖̥͇̜̠͚r͎̯̖̳̹iv͘e̡̪͇̼̼̳̼̰r̯͎̪̝,̷̜̯ ̛̝͉͎̝w̷̰h͎͔̣̟̮̰͡y͠ ̭̙͉̹͙̪i͏̜͔ş̹̖̼̟̫̟̩ ̸̥̫t̩h̩̖̖͉͇͎̪͠e̦͞r̜͞e̫̪̺̩̟̝͟ ̩͎̝̞̮̣̭a͏̰͕̖̥̺̱̙ ̴͚͇̫̲r͔̯͇̗̤̦ͅi͇͍̪͍v̛̰e͕͔͇̲r̨̠̯͔,͕̹ ̠̬̞͖͚̗̭h̦̤̩̰̹͠o̶̺̪̲̩̝w͍̼̺͖,̦ ͓̹̝̼w͝h̲̫͎y̩͕,͎̻̝͍͚̹͈ ̬̣̯̫h̝͉̰ơ̳ẉ͖̪͕̪̦,͈͉̦̬̺̜̠͡ ҉h͖͉̲̝͔͍o͙̤̺͇̞̬w̖̼̕ ͏̝̙͙h̞̭̖̦ͅo̲̠͈̘̮̞w҉̱̳͖̭̜̖ ̡͙̰͉̯h̘̻̥̠̝ow̦̝̹͚ ̩͙̗͈̭̻̖h̥̗͉̰̻̝̫o̱̺͖̱w̯̻̣̫ ҉-̰-̡͉̘̖̫̦͙_

_Maru. I’m sorry._

…

Emu awoke with a start, his hands tightly grabbing the fabric of his sweat-drenched sheets below him. He found it hard to breath, especially tangled in the sheets and arms of another person he couldn’t _quite_ remember as he just couldn’t get his bearings in the darkness. Soon enough, he found himself pushing against the person, the body grunting in return, before he rolled off, blanket going with him as he fell to the floor.

This … was a very eventful way of waking up. And not one of the most pleasant.

“Jesus, Emu, give a Bugster a break, will ya?” He could hear Kiriya’s voice from on the bed, and no sooner did he hear his voice, he saw his face, tired and annoyed, peering over the edge of the bed, “I realize that you literally kick ass everywhere, but I already died once.”

Groaning, Emu pressed a hand on his face, feeling it slightly wet from sweat. He must’ve looked pathetic, being on the ground like this in his sleep clothes, breathing like crazy as if he had ran a marathon. Kiriya must’ve taken pity, though, as he felt a cold hand rest on Emu’s arm.

“Bad dream?” He asked, in which Emu nodded silently. “Must’ve been. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Emu didn’t reply, getting up and flopping back into the bed with Kiriya in waiting for him. He didn’t even bother to spread the blanket back out, he felt too tired to even readjust himself to a more comfortable position.

“What time issit?” Emu asked in a groan, burying his face in the pillow.

Kiriya looked up at the alarm clock, grimacing at the sheer irony of the time. “4:57 am.” He answered, “You were going to get up in about … 8 minutes, right?”

“ _Uuuugh_ … no use going back to sleep.” Emu complained loudly, rolling onto his back, “Stupid dream … stupid, stupid fucking …”

“Language, mister.” Kiriya teased him as he reached over, turning the alarm clock off, “We’ll just pretend this clock is 8 minutes fast. The time is now Five-o-Five am, you gave yourself the extra five minutes of sleep you are always begging for.”

When Kiriya received no response from Emu, he frowned, before he prodded his shoulder with his index finger. “Seriously, though, are you alright?” He asked him softly, “That must’ve been some bad dream if it left you kicking me in the gut like that.”

“It was.” Emu gave up on gaining any semblance of restfulness, and instead sat up on the edge of the bed. “It was … strange too. I haven’t experienced something like that in … like, forever.”

“Like what?” Kiriya asked.

Emu hesitated, gently turning his lips inward and biting on them. But then he sighed and stood up slowly. He crossed over to the kitchen counter and reached for a mug, and turned on the coffee machine just next to him. After a moment, he looked at Kiriya, almost sadly.

“Can I tell you a story?” Emu asked.

Kiriya seemed taken aback by this question, but shrugged. “It better not be one of your creepy-pastas you spook Nico with.” He laughed. “I mean … come on, a haunted game cartridge that had a ghost that drowned? _Spooookyyyyy_ ”

“It’s … more of an urban legend.” Emu said, blushing, caught in his trap.

“You say urban legend, I still think creepy-pasta.” Kiriya sighed, before laying back in bed, “Alright, then. Tell me about this …” He wiggled his fingers in the air, “ _Urban Legend_ ”

“… There was once a small arcade in the United States, during the 1980’s. A place called Oregon, I believe.” Emu poured out the coffee into the mug, his nose wrinkling at the bitter smell it gave off, doing nothing for his headache. “It was a sort of a play-testing facility. Game creators would bring blank cabinets with the newest arcade games installed, and children would play them to see if it was enough of a money grabber to mass-produce.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, sounds like a good beginning of a creepy-pasta.” Kiriya waved his hand in a circular motion. “Go on.” 

Emu rolled his eyes, but made no other comment, reaching for the sugar on his counter. “Well, there was this one cabinet. The title of the game inside it was called ‘Polybius’ …” He continued, practically pouring the sugar into his coffee. “Apparently, according to legend, this game was … rather mentally effective.”

“How so?”

Emu took a sip of the coffee, and winded his lips, before adding more sugar. “Well, rumors stated that the game had an ill-effect on those who played it. Players would have anything from headaches and mild amnesia, vomiting, even hallucinations.” He casually took a sip of his coffee again. This time satisfied with the taste, he returned to the bed, sitting down on the edge. “Hell, there were people who allegedly went insane and committed suicide.”

“Hm. That’s … strange.”

“That’s not the strangest, though.” Emu placed the mug on his lap, his hands carefully curling around it. “Apparently, every week for the few months that the game was there, there were stories of men in black coming into the arcade, taking data from the Polybius cabinet, and then mysteriously leaving. And it lead people to believe that it was some sort of top government secret project in using video games to brainwash people and control their minds.”

“Wouldn’t put it past the US government.” Kiriya laughed, “Ah well. What happened after that?”

Emu shrugged. “Well, no one knows. People says that the men in black came in and disassembled the cabinet. No one has seen it since.” He sipped his coffee again, then stared out of the window, the cracks of dawn just peeking over the rooftops of the nearby neighborhood. “Urban legends tend to end like that.”

“Creepy-Pasta.” Kiriya teased Emu, earning him a tired glare from the genius gamer. Kiriya just smiled in return, before laying back into the bed. “Why do you even bring it up, anyway? Are you that tired that you’ve reached fuck o’clock even before you got out of bed?”

Emu went silent for a very long time, fingers delicately studying the curl of the handle of his mug. Finally he stared away from the window.

“I had a brother, once.” He answered, “A twin brother.” 

Kiriya’s smile faded entirely as his eyes went wide. He sat straight up in his bed and looked at Emu over his shoulder and then scooted to sit beside him, concern now being drawn on his face.

“You never mentioned that before!” Kiriya exclaimed in surprise, “What happened? Is he still here?”

“No. He actually passed away a very long time ago, when we were very little.” He stated, “I think I was … Four? Maybe Five? Either way … apparently he got very sick and died.”

Kiriya blinked. “… ‘apparently?’”

“Well, that’s the thing.” He said, “You looked at my medical records. I was in an accident Sixteen years ago, they had to do surgery on me. But the combination of brain trauma and medications afterward, I couldn’t really remember much of anything. I had to go through a series of therapies to remember anything. Eventually I remembered my family and friends, but not … not my brother.”

He looked at Kiriya quickly, before he placed the mug on the bedside stand and leaned forward. “I just … vaguely remember this one therapy I was quickly pulled out from. It was entirely experimental.” He explained, “From what I understand, it was something using certain game programming to recall repressed memories. Something like specialists use on PTSD patients.”

“Please don’t tell me it used VR units …”

“What? Oh, no. No no … it was simpler than that.” Emu laughed, “It was just … I can’t really remember much of it. I have vague memories of it being like a point-and-click adventure. Have you played a game called the cat lady? It was something like that.”

Kiriya leaned closer. “So why were you pulled out?”

Emu shrugged, “I don’t know. I barely remember any of it.” He said, “Just that I would play a game, and then suddenly … I don’t know. The memories are all jumbled. But according to my mother, I was reacting very violently against it. So she pulled me out and tried more traditional approaches with me.”

He pulled the blinds over the window, completely covering the room in darkness. “Anyway … the dream I had reminded me of that. It’s not something I share with many people.” Emu added on with a tired sigh, “It’s all in the past now. I know I should be sad for having a dead brother … but what’s the use of being sad if you don’t remember what made you happy about him in the first place?”

“I think I get what you’re saying.” Kiriya sighed and laid back down on the bed, “But don’t you ever get even the slightest curious at what he was like?”

“According to mom, he was a little bit aggressive. Liked to take control, loved to be in the spotlight.” He answered without turning, “Kinda like any brother, I suppose.”

He got up and turned, heading for the dresser and pulling out an entire slew of clothing. “Anyway … I’m headed into the CR. Gotta long day.” He took his shirt and pulled it roughly over his head. “We’re performing a Gastrectomy on a guy with high blood pressure. It’s going to be a fricken’ nightmare.”

“I know, with how you react to blood.” He let another smile cross his face, “You better not faint again, intern.”

Emu rolled his eyes. “It’s too early for this shit.” Emu sighed, “I also need to make sure that Parad isn’t giving Kuroto too much trouble. Sometimes he was too much to handle for me. Have you ever been in a room alone with him? If he’s bored, he will constantly punch at you to play with him, usually at video games. Do you know how many smash brother matches I got into with him? Do you know who he plays?”

Kiriya rolled his eyes, knowing this argument he had over and over again “Dr. Mario-?”

“Doctor freakin’ Mario!” Emu practically whipped his doctor’s coat off of the hanger on his door, roughly putting it on, “He does it all just to troll me! He doesn’t even play him well, he just likes the irony of it!”

“You need to chill, Emu.” Kiriya rolled onto his back into the bed again, letting out a deep sigh, “No need to get an aneurism over a plumber with a PhD in internal medicine.”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just kinda hard to be in the same room with him. Not in the bad way. But he’s kinda like a sibling with nothing to play with.” Emu grabbed his id badge and card, everything he needed to function in the day, stuffing them all in his pockets. “Anyway … make sure to lock up when you leave. Call me if you need anything.”

“You know I will.” He held a thumbs up in the air, before letting it flop down on the bed. “Tell Hiiro I said hi and that you love him.”

Emu blushed at that, turning away. “You should stop teasing me like that.”

“Oh, did I twist a nerve?” Kiriya got up finally from the bed and crossed over to Emu, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him back just enough to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You gotta go for it, before I somehow lead him home myself. And you know I’ll do it.”

“That’s what I am afraid of.” Emu almost glared at Kiriya, but patted his hand, “If I’m lucky I’ll see you later this evening.”

He allowed Kiriya to press a kiss into his cheek again, before he finally released him and sent him away out the door. When Emu closed the door behind him, Kiriya took a glance at the clock, the time showing fifteen minutes past five in the AM. And really … he could go back to sleep. He was fucking tired, after all.

But now this Polybius business has got him _… interested …._

_It feels like the kid is always being picked on, poor guy … one experiment after another._

He eyed Emu’s laptop on the table on the far wall. And immediately a smile crossed his face as a devious idea formed in his mind. 

_Well … maybe this is worth looking into. He did give me his password, after all. And I will make him regret it. Time to change his desktop background._


	2. Boktai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this Chapter is so short. More to come, hopefully.

Going to the hospital had become routine, especially this early in the morning. He would go in for a coffee at the nearby café, though this morning Emu told them to add a little more sugar in the mix. With the sugar he had in his coffee at home, he would be on par with meeting Hiiro’s sugar quota of the day. Especially with the chocolate chip muffin he all but stuffed in his mouth that morning.

All the usual nurses and doctors greeted him as he walked through the doors, smiling him and greeting him with the same sort of tiredness that Emu felt himself. If there was one thing he could count on, is that he wasn’t alone in his fatigue, though how he got it was a different story in itself. But he could leave it all behind – it was just a dream. Nothing more than a dream. Dreams were products of memories being sorted through the brain and processed into new information …

He had seen _Inside Out_. He knew how Psychology worked. 

With 20 minutes left before he had to clock in, he decided to step into the CR first with the last bit of the muffin crumbling inside his maw. The hospital itself was crowded, even in the early mornings, but the CR was for special cases regarding Bugsters … and there weren’t too many spottings lately, so to him, this was kind of a second break room for him, quiet and still, even with Poppy deciding to pop in every now and then. 

When he stopped by, though, opening the door, he found that he wasn’t the only one in the CR. In fact, there were two more people there with him, both faces towards him as he entered. One face smiled brightly as he saw Emu, the other … still keeping that serious, stone-cold face that would win matches in Poker.

“Good morning, Emu!!” Haima greeted Emu as he walked away from his son, Hiiro rolling his eyes even at his father’s vigor and energy, “I swear you’re getting here ealier by the day.”

“What happened last night?” Hiiro eyed Emu suspiciously right away, Haima turning to Hiiro with a shocked look, before he turned back to Emu with an incredulous look.

Emu blinked. “What do you mean? I … I just got here.”

“I … have to agree.” Haima cocked his brow, tilting his head, “I mean, just because Kiriya was there –“

“I had spoken to Kiriya and Emu both via text up until 9:41 pm last night, without any further texts beyond the usual goodnights and such. So it was safe to assume that you went to bed around 9:45 pm, unless you took a shower, so give or take some 15 minutes. With the Gastrectomy scheduled at 6:45 am in the morning today, you would have gotten up around 5:05 am – giving you the extra five minutes Kiriya states that you always give yourself to sleep.”

Emu stared, mouthing a curse as his eyes went wide. Despite his amazement at Hiiro’s deductions, Hiiro continued onward, looking quickly at the clock.

“5:25 am you would have left your apartment, giving you about half an hour to arrive here 5:55 am to clock in, 10 minutes if you hadn’t stopped for coffee. However, you arrived here rather … early this morning, an entire 20 minutes early. Leaving me to believe that you woke up before your alarm woke you. Leaving me to come to the conclusion that something happened last night.”

Haima and Emu both looked at Hiiro, Emu slack-jawed and staring in awe while Hiiro’s father merely backing away slowly.

“No more sugar cookies for breakfast, mister.”

Emu sighed at shook his head. “No … no, Hiiro’s right. I just had a dream, that’s all, a really bad one. But I’m fine.” Emu smiled as if to prove the point, though it reflected nothing but a tired doctor, “Lets just review what we need to do for the operation.”

“Are you sure you are up to it?” Haima asked him quietly, “If you’re not, I can step in and –“

“All I’m doing is literally just standing there being pretty and handing stuff to Hiiro as he does this. Also maybe cleaning up blood.” He shivered. “So … so much blood.”

“And Bile, perhaps.” Hiiro added.

“ _NOW_ you tell me …” Emu groaned.

Haima merely laughed. “Emu, don’t worry. There will be plenty of other people to support you too while you’re there.” He said as he looked at his watch, “You better go prepare. There’s a lot for you to review before you dive into this.”

Hiiro nodded before putting his hand on Emu’s back, leading him away. “Let’s get you something energizing first. I can’t have you nodding off during this procedure.” Hiiro offered him as he lead him down the hallway, “We’ll discuss the nightmares afterward.”

“If I’m up to it.” Emu smiled weakly and waved to Haima behind him, before he allowed himself to be lead by Hiiro, “Let’s get into this business.”  
\--  
Emu’s computer, as small as it was, was very advanced in the latest gaming tech … that Emu could afford at least. He loved dabbling with MMORPG’s and other PC games, emulation or otherwise. So it was no wonder that it was easy for him to pull up special police programs that allowed a coroner like Kiriya to review many files related to any case. He had to do this incognito, though. Emu would either be proud or angry that Kiria let him download a program that allowed him to hide IP addresses, allowed him to browse everything in a protected manner … basically anything that to a regular non-police citizen would be illegal. 

Hey. If Emu was allowed to play a torrented copy Hatoful Boyfriend so that he wouldn’t be judged on steam, Kiriya could do this too.

Of course he started with the obvious. He had to research more into the ‘Polybius’ Thing that Emu had told him about this morning. There were some details he got wrong and some he left out, but for the most part, he got the legend correct. He watched video after video of the creepy-pasta that was on the internet, read many articles … got himself a laugh out of a cheap jump scare … 

With that in mind, he started researching anything that had to do with experimental treatments using video games. He did find some helpful and hopeful things, tetris used for short term PTSD relief and even fixing amblyopia, some arcade games used for range of motion exercises for patients with limited ROM, some facial recognition for younger players with some mental disabilities … everything good. But nothing documented about a mind-drug of a game. 

Well. Of course this was something that wouldn’t be documented if there were more cases like that.

_Perhaps I should go a little deeper into this mystery … I’m starting from the wrong endpoint._ Kiriya thought to himself as he went further into his police archives, medical archives, all the legal stuff he could do, _Maybe Emu has something in his past he doesn’t know about … amnesia is one hell of a thing._

One hell of a game too.

The last time he looked was on Christmas … something he really didn’t want to remember. But he had only looked at the accident that he was involved in sixteen years ago. But that was when he was about ten years old. He was just beginning life there. He had no desire to look further … 

He scrolled through the official document he pulled up on his search. And of course, there was the infamous accident that sent him down a path towards his current medical status. But now he had to scroll back even more, looking at all the medical history this boy had since the 1990’s … yearly check-ups, shots, everything a good and healthy child should have. But nothing that stood out to him.  
_Okay. Plan B …_ Kiriya cracked his knuckles at that dead end, before he ended up back on the keyboard once more, _Let’s look at your little brother._

Somehow, it felt as if he was typing in a dark, taboo word when he entered his name into the search bar …

_Hojo Maru_

Surprisingly … or, maybe not surprisingly, something did in fact pop up. However, when clicking on the name, Kiriya went slack-jawed at the result of his findings …

Most of the document had been blocked out. 

_Name: Hojo Maru_  
Date of Admittance: August 19th, 199X  
Final Disposition: Expired  
Admitting Diagnosis: [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] 

Kiriya blinked. And blinked again. Then upon his confusion, started to scroll through the entire document, looking for anything further.

_All_ of it was blocked off.

_Hojo Maru was brought in the morning of August 19th, 199X, upon receiving a call from a [XXXXX] [XXXXXXXX], [XXXXXXXXX] [X] [XXXX] [XXXXXXXX] [XX] [XXX] [XXXXXX]. [XXXXXXXXXX] [XXXXXXX] on [XXXXX], but when [XXX] [XXXX] [XXX] [XXXXXXXXX], Maru [XXX][XXXXXXXXXX] [XXXX] [XX] [XX]:[XX] am. His mother, Hojo Akane, [XXX] [XXXXXXXX] immediately [XXXXX] [XXX] [XXXXX] [XXXXXXXXXX]._

_Upon his death, Hojo Akane [XXX] [XXXX] [XXXXXXXX] [XXXXX [X] [XXXXXXXX] regarding [XXX] [XXXXXXX], alongside [XXX] [XXXXX] [XXXXXX], being [XXXXXXXXXXXX] [XX] his twin brother Hojo Emu, [XXX] was [XXXXXXXXXX] [XXXXXXXXX] with [XXXXX] [XXXXXX] [XXXXXXX]. [XXX] [XXXXXX] [XXXXXX], and [XXXXX] [XXXXXX] [XXXX] [XXXXXX] [XX] [XXX] [XXXXXXXXXXXX]._

Kiriya sat back in his seat, aghast. This was not what he expected. Sure, this document was a couple of decades old. But seeing this … it was as if someone didn’t want Maru’s death to be discovered. 

Or maybe something about his death.

_Okay … we’ll just put that aside for now. Onto plan C._ Kiriya told himself, going back to Emu’s documents, _Maybe … start with the point that everything broke?_

He took a second look at the accident that occurred sixteen years ago. Several medical records after that showed a multitude of many medications and therapies being prescribed to him, most of them notably for pain management and beta-blockers … which seemed odd. He scrolled further down, and saw something on his document that finally, _finally_ seemed to be a lead.

It was a referential to a therapist … Dr. Nobuyuki Iwahara. A quick search lead him to his businesses, his practice, and even a few articles about using technology in mental healing process.

_Okay. This has got to be the guy_

Taking quick note of his business address, he closed everything down so that Emu wouldn’t be pissed, and yanked his leather jacket off the coat-rack to put around his shoulders, rushing out the door.

There was something fishy going on here. And it’s been a while since a good mystery slapped him in the face.  
\--  
“Target sighted.”

A man clad in black stood at a corner of an alleyway, dark glasses blocking his eyes as he looked out at the street, mostly empty. Across from him on the other side of the street, there was a Neon sign that blinked in and out of power, an arrow pointing downward towards an open door. There, a tall, dark figure, wearing strange coat clad all in wires and chargers stood, looking hungrily at the Arcade games inside. The black-cladded man turned when the other turned his head, hiding back behind the wall of an alleyway.

“It’s got to be him.” He said, two fingers pointed up to his ear, “Parad … Description matched perfectly. Besides that, your readers found strong bugster waves here, correct?”

There was silence.

“shall I act now, sir?”

More silence. The man’s face frowned, his stubble of a mustache curving downward. 

“Understood sir.” He answered, looking towards the sky, “Though I must act soon, sir. Weather reports stated there would be storms ahead, right?”

More silence.

“… Understood.”

The fingers dropped from his ear as he poked his head around the corner again. He saw that Parad had entered inside the arcade. Probably wouldn’t be out for some time. He was instructed to wait, that the Arcade, empty as it was, was still in a relatively populated area. He needed to wait until the right time he was alone. 

He had to act fast, though.


End file.
